The Feelings That Drive Us
by The No one
Summary: After the fall tournament, an unthinkable tragedy occurs when Asuka disappears without a trace. The Kunahama FC club bands together in a desperate bid to try and find their precious friend. They learn that some things cannot be put to words as their feelings drive them into the future.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This story takes place after the fall tournament. Character thoughts are in italics.**

* * *

It was a calm afternoon. Thin clouds strolled leisurely across the blue sky. A gentle breeze passed through Kunashima island.

Masaya sat alone in the FC clubroom. Time slipped by him as his thoughts and feelings blackened every sense. His eyes were open, but he couldn't see anything. No sound traveled through his ears. Masaya's state of mind was little more than a patchwork of fear, anxiety, and unrelenting shock.

Three days ago, Asuka disappeared without a trace.

The door to the clubroom squealed eerily as it slid open. A girl as mischievous as she was compassionate poked her head through the opening. With light footsteps, she entered the clubroom.

"You're the only one here so far Hinata?"

Masaya lifted his head slightly. He tried to bring himself back into the world carrying on around him. "Oh, Madoka... Yeah..." He paused for a moment before continuing. "Misaki and Mashiro will be here in a little bit. They're stopping by the police station to see if they've gotten any leads yet."

The usually inquisitive Madoka stayed silent. She was in full observation mode. Looking at Masaya, she could tell he was still taking things pretty hard. Everyone was of course, but underneath his complicated exterior she could see a vulnerable identity. Worrying about others was one way Madoka could keep herself afloat.

"Misaki and Mashiro are kind of amazing, don't you think? They haven't rested once since they found out what happened. They all became such close friends in a short amount of time."

Masaya continued one-eyeing Madoka with his head still partially down. He could sense what she was hinting at, but he ignored it.

Masaya replayed the last few days in his head over and over. That day, Asuka didn't show up to school. She was at practice the day before and everything seemed normal. They went home together that evening after practice and said goodbye at the terminal like usual. It didn't sound like she was getting sick so he was surprised to not see her at school. He hoped it was nothing serious. As her coach, it was part of his responsibility to monitor the health of his players.

During the lunch break he messaged Asuka, but never got a reply back. He asked Aoi if she knew anything, but again came up with nothing. By this time everyone in the club was getting a little worried. They decided to stop by her house for a club visit to see if she was doing alright.

Panic set in when they got there. Two police vehicles were stationed outside the Kurashina residence. The club members were told that Asuka went to walk her dog in the morning but never returned. Only the dog came back to the house. The police had been searching for her the entire day. Since the club didn't have any information on what might have happened, they were told to leave for the day and they'd be in contact if there was any new information.

Still, sitting back and waiting was an unthinkable course of action. Asuka was a key member of the Kunahama FC club. With her unmatched enthusiasm and genuine personality, she was a dear friend to everyone. Thinking about what kind of fate Asuka met brought waves of tears and stomach pain.

"Let's just keep doing everything we can, right Hinata?" Madoka placed her hand gently on his head. "We'll find her soon, safe and sound."

"Ok, yeah. Let's not lose hope." he said reluctantly.

She backed off to give him a little space. It would be better to wait until everyone arrived before talking about the next steps for finding Asuka. Now would be a good time to tidy up the clubroom a little bit, but that was one of Madoka's least favorite tasks. "_What's the big deal about a little dust on the window anyway?"_ While continuing to pout by herself, she could sense the ominous aura rising once again from Masaya.

"I'm just going to step outside for a bit, 'kay?"

With no response coming from the other side of the clubroom, she calmly stepped outside. Near the front of the bus was a wide path that led to a cliffside overlooking part of the sea. It didn't take her even a minute to reach the cliff edge. She gazed steadily at the sky and ocean they had become so familiar with. Her long, blue hair swayed lightly behind her. She did her best to repress the emotions rippling through her.

After some time had passed, a familiar voice called out behind her. "Maadokaaaaaa!"

It was Misaki. Mashiro was standing beside her waving slowly, but there was no joy in that wave.

Madoka returned the call. "Miisaaakiiii! Maashiirooo!"

They signaled for her to join them. Wasting no time, she followed them inside the clubroom. Everyone gathered around the teal coloured table. A tall whiteboard rested behind one side. It was used many times for strategy planning and FC theory. Now, it only had a large map of Kunashima island and a short list of known facts regarding what happened to Asuka.

"Did you find anything out at the police station?" Masaya asked.

Mashiro slumped on her chair and kicked her legs through the air. "Nothing."

Misaki continued after Mashiro. "I still don't believe it. How could she just disappear like that? Everyone we talk to says the same thing... 'Sorry, but I don't know what could have happened.' The police haven't found any clues. Neither have we. It's so scary and frustrating!" Everyone nodded in agreement.

"What are we going to do?" Mashiro's voice quivered as she spoke. "I just hate this."

Masaya spoke up. "There isn't much, but there a few things we can do. Madoka told me not to lose hope and I think she's right." He turned his attention to the whiteboard. Parts of the map were shaded in where they went searching for Asuka. Most of the map was still unshaded. "We have to keep searching for her. We still have some time before it gets dark."

"Mashiro, how about you and I pair up this time?" Madoka rested her hands on Mashiro's slim shoulders. Normally she would complain about not being able to go with Misaki, but today she just murmured in agreement.

There were plenty of reasons to search in pairs. First, it was safer that way. With people disappearing, having someone watch your back provided extra safety. Second, having another pair of eyes on the same surroundings made the searches more thorough. Third, being alone means your thoughts start to get to you. Paired searching was as much for their physical safety as it was their mental and emotional well being.

"I think we have to start expanding our search area. So far we've covered the area surrounding Asuka's house. It seems unlikely that she went very far while walking her dog, so she's probably not near that area any longer."

Masaya drew two boxes on the whiteboard. One was towards the south western part of the island and the other was on the north eastern side. Those areas had travel routes that led to both of the sea ports on the island.

"Misaki and I will head toward the southern port. Madoka, Mashiro, you girls can head for the northern port. Sound good?"

Nobody had any objections.

"Remember to keep your eyes open for anything suspicious. Ask any people you find if they've seen anyone that looks like Asuka. We'll meet back here in two and half hours."

Their facial expressions softened a little bit as they stood and prepared to fly out. It felt good to get up and do something that could lead them to Asuka. At this rate, _any_ new information would be welcome.

The sun was out now and the air was clear. It was ideal weather for flying _and_ searching. As planned, the two pairs wished each other luck and took off in opposite directions.

* * *

Inevitably, darkness covered the island. Masaya was lying down on his bed with one arm covering his eyes. Once again, they couldn't uncover any leads. Everyone's morale was starting to plummet. They knew that each passing second meant a lower chance for Asuka's safety. It was a cruel, twisted reality. Once again, his senses started to dim as his thoughts and emotions overtook him.

_Bzzzt, bzzzt, bzzzt_. Masaya's phone started vibrating. He stared at it blankly for a moment before his brain realized the significance of getting a phone call. With surging emotions he snapped up the phone that was buzzing on his desk. The digital display showed who was calling. _Satouin._

_"That's right... We never told our friends at Takafuji what was going on. We were so focused on searching for Asuka that we hadn't thought of them. Maybe Satouin got word of what's going on."_ He accepted the call with a swift finger motion.

"Hey Satou..in, it's rare to get a call from you."

"Good evening Hina..ta. My apologies for calling at such a time. I hope I'm not being a bother to you."

"No, it's all right." If he was being honest, it was somewhat comforting to hear Satouin's voice. A mental image of her standing tall on the sand near Takafuji formed in his mind. She's a strong and capable person. A person you can always rely on. Why did he forget this? "Is there something you need to discuss with me?"

A barely audible sigh could be heard on the other end. It sounded like she was working up the courage to say something important. "There is... Something terrible has happened here at Takafuji. You see, Shindou has disappeared. Nobody has seen or heard from him for a few days."

Masaya's throat closed and he curled up his body tightly. His voice was practically a whisper. "No way.. Shindou went missing too?"

* * *

**Thank you for reading! I had a lot of fun writing it and hope to continue soon!**


	2. Chapter 2

Masaya leaped off his bed with enough force to displace it slightly. He grabbed the light jacket he was wearing earlier and put it on instinctually. The only thing left that he needed were his grav shoes.

"_What does all of this mean? Asuka... Shindou... What is really going on?"_

Masaya had a lot of questions for Satouin. Instead of trying to put the pieces together over the phone, Satouin suggested that he head over to her house.

"_She said she didn't want to tell me any details over the phone. When I asked if the others could come along with me, she was opposed to it. I could have pushed her a little harder but I didn't really have much of a reason to. I don't want to worry them even more. After all, I still don't know anything about Shindou's disappearance."_

Nobody could have been prepared for such an extreme situation. Masaya knew that he was being naive. It felt like playing into your opponent's trap in FC. You don't even know how bad you messed up until it's too late to escape.

"_Just goes to show how much I'm trusting Satouin here."_

He secured the grav shoes to his feet like he had done countless times before. His muscles were a little sore from flying around so much that day searching for Asuka. After standing up, he made his way over to the window in his room. The wood floor made a heavy _thunk_ing sound underneath each step. Using the tips of his fingers, he pulled back the curtain imperceptibly. If Rika saw him making a late night escape she was bound to get suspicious and question him later.

The light was off in Rika's room. He hoped she was busy preparing some meat-intensive dish and wasn't near any windows. Masaya held steady for a few seconds just to make sure. When he was finally convinced the coast was clear, he unlatched the window and hovered into the air. With a strong conviction he closed the window and took off into night sky.

Only a few permeable clouds lingered in the sky. Moonlight radiated down onto Kunashima island. The soft glow seemed almost unnatural to Masaya as he stopped to survey the mountains around him. He was careful to remain close to the surface so that he wouldn't accidentally get lost. There was no real reason to fly higher than necessary anyway.

Normally he would fly across the bay that reaches to the center of the island when going to school. Since Satouin lived on the Fukurujima island and west of Takafuji academy, he had to fly directly south-west to reach her house. There were a number of mountains to pass over before crossing the sea channel that separated the two islands. A minute elapsed while he checked his phone to confirm where to go.

And that's when it happened.

For only a microsecond, a brilliant streak of red light entered the corner of Masaya's eye. There was no time to react. He was struck with a massive concussive blow from above. Desperate to sustain consciousness, he careened toward the surface at an alarming speed. It was impossible to think. His head didn't even feel attached to his body anymore.

Masaya opened his eyelids while still falling to the ground. A pair of crazed eyes peered back at him. On pure instinct, copious amounts of adrenaline started being injected into his blood. Charging at Masaya was nothing less than a maniac. It was a man with a muscular frame and red contrails emitting from his grav shoes. His bald head reflected the moonlight and revealed an obvious scar along the top of his head.

"_I might be about to die."_

Masaya wasn't aware that his body started to move on its own. His conciousness may have rejected FC, but the skills he learned as a child never disappeared. He flipped over in the air and regained his balance. While using the speed from his assailant's blow he continued to pick up speed and fly toward the ground. It bought him enough to time to realize he had to get out of there _right now._

Every muscle in his body felt like it was on fire. Masaya exploded downward until he reached the ground. His only focus was speed. If he could put some distance between the two of them, the bald man would probably give up.

"Ahahahaha! Hey you!" the bald man taunted.

Masaya glanced backwards. Sharp waves pain smashed into his head from the movement, but he endured it. The bald man was in close pursuit behind him and did not seem to be gaining or losing any significant ground. This was an FC match unlike any other.

"_Gotta switch tactics."_

If he couldn't escape with speed, he would have to do it with agility. There was no way he could dogfight after that hit. Masaya veered off to the right. They gradually entered a wooded area at the base of a mountain. Bushes and saplings covered the forest floor. Thick branches and foliage clogged up the middle ground. One wrong move meant certain death at the speeds they were flying at. A direct hit by a branch or trunk would probably be enough to disable or flat out kill him. If he went too slowly, the bald man could simply touch him and he would go crashing into a tree. Masaya started to get nervous about the gamble was making.

_"I have to live!"_

Minor branches cut his face and neck repeatedly as he bobbed and weaved around every obstacle. Some areas were so dark that he could not see more than a few meters in front of him. Every few seconds he would sharply change directions - a maneuver he hoped would catch the man off guard and make it hard to quickly find a path to follow. The trees were never-ending, but Masaya did not feel the slightest bit of fatigue.

At long last the mountain came into view. The trees gradually thinned out until they sparsely covered the ground. Without hesitating, Masaya bolted into the sky and once again started to speed away. He steered left to course correct for the forest detour and continued to fly at maximum velocity. There were no sounds except for the rushing wind.

Beyond the mountain was the shoreline. The moonlight was bright and it was easy to see in this area. Masaya slowed down, clenched his fist, and turned around.

Emptiness. An empty airspace lay before him.

It felt too good to be true. His body trembled uncontrollably and small tears pooled in his eyes. Could anyone contain their emotions following such an ordeal?

After taking some deep breaths, Masaya rocketed off toward Satouin's house.

* * *

Satouin stood over her desk, eyeing the papers strewn across it. They only covered a small portion of the carefully crafted solid oak piece. The frown on her face continued to deepen. She was not especially upset or angry at the moment. It was a side effect of her intense focus.

"How shameful," she muttered.

Satouin ran her slender finger over one of the papers. _Fukurujima police report - station 3_. The title appeared in bold, official looking letters.

"Quite shameful," she repeated. Not knowing what else to do, she turned around walked over her bed, which was on the other side of the room.

_Pi Pi Tweeeet!_ Satouin's phone let out a familiar chime. She pulled out the device to check the message. It was the mansion's security system sending an alert that someone had arrived at the front gate.

"That must be Hinata arriving," she said getting up from her bed. Using her phone, she unlocked and opened the front gate remotely. Not that it mattered... anyone could just fly over the gate if they wanted to. It was leftover from when the mansion was originally built decades ago.

Satouin's room was on the second floor along the east wing of the estate. She hurried a bit down the hallway to not keep Masaya waiting too long. Gracefully decending down the spiraling steps in the foyer, Satouin made her way to the front door and opened it. Sure enough, Masaya stood listlessly in front of the manor.

"Hinata, welcome to the Satou residence," she said with a courteous bow.

That politeness turned into astonishment as she got a better look at him. "...what happened? What happened to you!?"

Masaya tried to speak, but he could not.

Satouin took a few steps forward and put her fingers on his cheek. The many lacerations on his face were inflamed and caked with blood. Along the top of his head was a large cut that was still bleeding.

"Follow me immediately." She grabbed his wrist and led him into the mansion.

There was a chair inside the grand foyer which Satouin motioned for Masaya to sit in. She turned to the house attendant standing nearby. "Bring the first aid set right away!"

"U.. Understood my lady." The attendent rushed off down the hallway. One downside of having such a large house was that it took a long time to navigate through.

Satouin waited for some explanation as to what was going on, but it never came. She stood over Masaya with her hands on her hips. The familiar frown returned once more.

Footsteps echoed clearly down the hallway. Without the usual clamour of guests, the great entrance felt so large and barren. The attendent rushed back into the room and opened the first aid kit. Satouin kneeled on the ground and joined the attendent in preparing the materials.

Satouin applied the first-aid in silence. Starting with the cut on top, as gently as she could, she applied pressure with a light towel to stop the bleeding. Evidently it wasn't gentle enough because Masaya recoiled slightly from the pain. This continued on as she kept working.

"Sorry..." Masaya finally managed to say.

Satouin let out a playful sigh. "Seriously, as if there wasn't enough trouble going on already. The last thing I expected was for you to show up all beat up looking."

Satouin was an experienced leader now. She tried to lower his guard by sounding approachable and dependable. But there was also an unmistakable sincerity behind her words. Although they didn't spend a lot of time together, the two of them had grown close. Mutual respect was born from their many interactions in the FC world.

"You must have gone through hell to end up looking like this."

"Hell on Earth maybe. I must've had a run in with a demon then."

Satouin pulled back her hand slightly. "Somebody did _this_ to you?" She thought for a moment. "Kurobochi?"

"No way." Masaya tried recalling what his attacker looked like.

_Hey you!_

"That's right, I remember. It was a man actually. And boy was he one scary person."

Satouin continued to work on his wounds while he told her about everything that happened. He told her about the strong hit on his head, being chased through the forest, and the overwhelming emotions.

Satouin was putting the pieces together in her mind. What happened to Masaya was an important clue. "We need to talk, and I have something else I need to show you. However, I don't want to push you if that is too much right now."

"No, I'll be fine for now. I'm growing impatient with everything. I want to get to the bottom of everything as soon as possible."

A tiny smile formed at the corner of her mouth. "Well then, please follow me. We'll take it slow."

She helped him up off of the chair. They made their way up the stairs and down the hall to Satouin's room. The attendent left the first aid set with her as a precaution.

"Woah... Such an incredible room."

Satouin ignored him. Although she was very proud of her family and estate, she had no desire to brag about it. Letting it go was the easiest choice.

"What I am about to show you... I don't want you to tell anyone else about. Understand?"

Masaya nodded. "This is why you didn't want me to bring the others?"

"Exactly." She grabbed the police report and handed it to Masaya.

"As I mentioned earlier over the phone, Shindou disappeared and has been missing for days. The police were supposed to be in charge of the investigation, but there haven't been any leads. Not a single piece of useful evidence."

That didn't surprise Masaya. Asuka's investigation was going the same way.

"I started to get suspicious. I just had a bad feeling about it. That's why we obtained these police reports."

Something didn't add up. "I think you skipped a few steps there, Satouin. How did you manage to get a hold of these? Are you sure these are legitimate?"

Satouin looked surprised. She wasn't used to people questioning her family's ability to get results. "The Satou conglomerate has considerable influence in this area. I was able to get these with a little... pressure. Rest assured they are legitimate."

Masaya continue reading the report. "Hey! What's with this? There's barely anything here! Are they even trying?"

Satouin gently pulled the report out of his hands and looked him straight in the eye.

"Somebody is sabotaging this investigation and the efforts to find Shindou."

* * *

**Thank you for reading! I'm excited to write chapter 3!**


	3. Chapter 3

Masaya carefully read through each report Satouin had on her desk. There were some details to the investigation on Shindou, but not much. It chronicled the places that were searched, the people the investigators met with, and the conversations they had. None of it stood out to him as especially insightful.

Masaya covered his eyes with his hands. "Satouin," he called out suddenly.

She was nearby examining some other documents. "What is it?"

"I finished looking through these. Do you mind if I rest a bit?"

Satouin walked over to the desk. "Of course not. You're actually holding up better than I imagined. If you want, you can use the bed over there."

"Thanks. I really just want to close my eyes for a moment."

Masaya rose up from the chair he was sitting in and shuffled over to the bed. With some awkward movements, he climbed on top and rested on his back. Comfortable and content, he started to analyze the new information.

"Satouin... Why do you think the investigation is being sabotaged? It's a strange case, I'll admit. The reports don't point to any leads. There aren't any persons of interest. Everyone that was questioned could not help. But none of those things are out of the realm of possibility for a case."

Satouin began to very slowly pace back and forth. "You're not wrong, Hinata." She took a few more steps before continuing. "The thing is, it's not about what's _in _those reports. I read them repeatedly. I tried to glean even the smallest clues. It wasn't until later that I realized it's actually about what _isn't _in them."

"What isn't in them? What do you mean?"

"These documents form a complete picture, but an incomplete story... You probably know what I'm referring to."

Masaya let out a sorrowful sigh, but didn't say anything.

Satouin lowered her voice. "I heard about it... what happened to Asuka."

"Sorry, Satouin. I didn't know when or how to bring it up. I'm sure you've felt it with Shindou's disappearance, but it's been hell. Still, without knowing what actually happened, we have to have hope. We need to do everything we can, for Asuka _and _Shindou."

"I couldn't agree more. Yes, it has been a nightmare... but nothing is over yet! One way or another, we're going to find out what happened to them."

Masaya thought back to what Satouin said. "Still, how do you figure the investigation is being sabotaged?"

"Not _the_ investigation, Hinata. Both investigations," she corrected. "The missing links between Asuka and Shindou in the police reports is our clue. There are way too many similarities between them to ignore. They both vanished on the same day. They both are high profile FC players in the area."

"They also both knew each other," he pointed out. "Do you think it's possible they had plans together and something went wrong? It's hard to believe anyone could fool Shindou, but Asuka can be a little too trusting at times."

"It's a possibility they were together, but I don't really think that's what happened."

Masaya thought about it harder. "Asuka was walking her dog at the time. Usually you don't plan to meet someone with your dog, right? Not to mention they didn't know each super well."

"I think the strongest evidence actually flew to my front door today."

"Me? You mean what happened on my way here?"

"Yeah. You were attacked by a strange man on your way here, right? You said they hit you from above."

"It happened really fast. I was looking at my phone so I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings. When I noticed someone else was there, I was already being struck."

"That encounter tells us a lot, I think. The first thing is that someone we don't know is a bad actor behind this. Secondly, two disappearances on the same day and probably manipulating police investigations is extremely difficult to manage. I think we can assume whoever came after you is related to these cases and not working alone."

Satouin paused momentarily. Masaya didn't have anything to to say, so she simply continued.

"Third, your attack was obviously premeditated. They waited for an opportunity to attack you alone. Promise me you'll be extremely careful from now on, ok?"

"Just great. I'm the target of some psychopath now," he muttered.

"Fourth, and most importantly, that move to strike from above is intended to disable someone by knocking them unconscious. If they wanted you dead, there were more efficient ways to do it. It's just an assumption, but if the others were targeted in similar ways, there's a good chance they are still very much alive."

That got Masaya's attention. He opened his eyes and tried to sit up, but Satouin was there to gently restrain him.

"Don't get too excited now," she warned.

"How am I supposed to stay calm after hearing that?" he responded.

"I think you've had enough excitement for one day. We have plenty of guest rooms here; why don't you stay here for tonight? We can talk more tomorrow about what to do next. You can go see a doctor about your injury as well. Sound good?"

Masaya could tell he wasn't being given a choice in this matter. It wasn't exactly safe to fly back to his home anyway.

"I think I'll take you up on your offer. We don't have school tomorrow anyway."

Satouin let out her signature laugh. "Good choice! I'll have the attendant prepare things right away."

With that, the evening finally came to an end.

It was a lonely night for Masaya. Sleeping in an unfamiliar place, even one as luxurious and extravagant as Satouin's mansion, was unsettling. The sound of his heartbeat seemed to echoed through the silent room.

"I'm still alive," he said aloud. "Asuka... I can't hear your heartbeat right now, but I'm listening. We'll come find you."

* * *

**[The next day]**

"Mashiroooooo, are you holed up in your room again?"

There was no response from the other side of the door. Botan decided to do what she does best: barge straight into her daughter's room.

Mashiro was working on the computer at her desk. She had on stylish black and silver headphones that drowned out any sounds from the restaurant below. It could get pretty noisy when a lot of customers poured in. Naturally, she couldn't hear anything her mother said.

Botan tried to sneak up behind her, but she did not go undetected.

"Waaahhh!" Mashiro flipped out. Her headphones slipped off, tumbled down her neck, and landed on the floor. "Mommm! Why do you always do that to me!?"

"My, my, isn't that what mothers are supposed to do? I came to check on my darling Mashiro." Her smile reached a level of mischievousness that not even Madoka could pull off.

Botan picked up the headphones that had fallen.

"..._I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon..."_

"Oh? This song..."

Mashiro snatched the headphones back from her mother.

"My daughter sure has gotten into some strange things lately," Botan teased.

"Arika recommended that to me, ok? Although... I guess it is kinda interesting." Mashiro was turning red and mentally retreating.

Now that Botan had her fill of fun, there was something she wanted to ask. "Mashiro, your friends are still coming over later, right?"

Mashiro stayed on guard. "Yeah. All of the girls are coming here. Masaya too."

The faint sound of glass breaking could be heard all the way from the first floor.

"Could you help out with the shop for right now then? Just for a little bit while we're busy."

Mashiro glanced at her computer screen, and then back at her mother. "I suppose I can help out. But not when everyone gets here!"

"Thanks Mashiro! I know the customers will be delighted to see your cute face down there."

"There you go saying something weird again! Jeez.."

Botan giggled as she left.

Mashiro returned to her computer briefly. She moved her mouse to the _save to playlist_ button and clicked it.

"Asuka, I'll become someone special that can save you." She got up, skipped over to the doorway and then stopped. Looking back at her desk, her faint smile faded into a more serious expression. Then she hurried downstairs and transformed into a server at Mashiro Udon.

The lunch rush lasted for almost two hours. Even though it was hectic, Mashiro wasn't focused on work at all. Working at the restaurant was natural for her, so going into autopilot mode was enough to make it through any shift.

Everyone was meeting at Mashiro Udon today instead of the clubroom. It was Masaya's suggestion. He said he had some new information that he wanted to share with everyone. Of course, this caused some excitement with the girls and they questioned him relentlessly. There were so many messages that he couldn't keep up and respond, which led them to send even more messages! Eventually, he gave up and just told everyone to wait.

The plan was to meet at 2:30pm, but since they were all impatient, people started arriving early. First was Misaki who wanted to mow on udon before things got serious. Madoka and Shion (who was tagging along) arrived after, and Masaya was last coming in right at 2:30.

"Way to be super slow, Masaya. I was about to order seconds, you know!" Misaki was sitting near the middle of a table on the right side of the restaurant.

"Seconds? So you've already had firsts? Don't you think of anything besides food?"

"Of course I do! Like... sometimes I think about how I can wake up as late as possible, sometimes I think of FC, and sometimes I think about you Masanyaa."

If looks could kill, Mashiro would have killed Masaya at least a hundred times by now.

Madoka leaned forward on the table. "What happened to your head? Did you lose a fight to a stray cat on your way here?"

Masaya sat down on the end of one side of the table. "Really funny, Madoka. Don't take cats lightly. There are a couple of scary, vicious ones right here."

Madoka imitated a cat and hissed back at Masaya.

"If you guys don't mind, I'd like to begin."

"Oh right! The big news you said you had. Well go on, let's hear it." Misaki pet his head, to which he just flicked her hand away.

Masaya was glad nobody pressed him on why his head was all beat up looking. Satouin tried to fix it up as well as she could, but cuts take time to heal.

Gathering his resolve, he began to explain. "Ok, here goes. After we all split up, I got a call last night from Satouin." Unable to keep his head up, his eyes focused on the table. "Shindou went missing. He disappeared the same day as Asuka."

Madoka shook her head. "Masaya... when you said you had big news, I thought it was going to be good news. This is terrible..."

"I know. I wish it wasn't like this. However, I do have some good news to share with you guys."

"Good news, like what?" Mashiro was all ears. Some cats are vicious, but others are docile and curious.

"Satouin has an idea that might lead us to Shindou. I think there's a high chance that if we can find Shindou, we'll find Asuka."

Mashiro slapped the table and stood up. "You actually mean that? How? When? Where?"

"Calm down, Mashiro," Madoka pulled her by the arm back into her seat. Even as she told her to calm down, she couldn't contain a genuine smile.

"I don't have every detail yet, but Satouin is asking for our help."

Shion could contain himself no longer. "Hahaha! I owe a great deal to Asuka you know. It's thanks to her we were able to keep the FC club going. Use me and my muscles any way you see fit!"

Everyone stared blankly at Shion. Madoka poked him in the side a few times.

"Hold on, won't you just get in the way? Maybe you should stay home."

"I'll be useful, Madoka! I promise! You won't leave me out of it, right?"

Misaki wanted to get back on topic. "So if we can find Shindou, we'll find Asuka? If they disappered on the same day, that makes sense. But what is Satouin planning? I don't think we can afford to wait around."

"Good point. Satouin asked for all of us to meet up in two days. We'll be skipping school that day."

"Woah... Satouin is suggesting we skip school? She's _really _serious about this. Certainly doesn't bother me, though," Misaki said as if it were perfectly normal.

"I'll try to get more details before then and forward it to everyone." Masaya looked around the table. "Ah! I almost forgot. Make sure to be extremely careful from now on. Watch everything and everyone around you, ok? Things are still dangerous. ... That's everything I wanted to say today."

Nods of agreement went around the table. Spirits were relatively high as the FC club members hung out at Mashiro Udon and talked about all the things they haven't been able to over the last few days. Everything they were thinking and feeling. All of the emotions they've endured. There was hope on the horizon now.

Later, they said their goodbyes outside the front door and went their separate ways. Everyone except two suspicous girls.

"Masaya, you're coming with us for a little bit. And don't try to get out of it, got it?" It was Misaki and Madoka teaming up together. He had no choice but to go with them. They started walking down the street with a girl flanking each side. It felt like two interrogators closing in on a stubborn criminal.

The words came forth forcefully. "Masaya, tell us what you're hiding."

* * *

**Chapter 3 is officially in the books! Thank you as always for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

The sun blazed brightly from beyond the sky, but it wasn't the reason Masaya was feeling the heat. Outside of Mashiro Udon, Misaki and Madoka had him in the hot seat. The three of them were walking down a narrow street. Misaki was on the left, Madoka guarded the right, and Masaya was stuck in the middle.

"We're not trying to bully you or anything, Masaya. Madoka and I know that there's something you aren't telling us."

Masaya wanted to play this carefully. There was one important thing he wasn't revealing, but he didn't know exactly what it was they were suspecting. First he wanted to probe their feelings so he could respond better.

He started with a cool deflection. "What makes you think I'm hiding anything? I'm not."

Madoka latched onto his arm in a surprise attack. With sparkling eyes and cheerful warmth, she put on her cutest expression. It was the kind of act a pop idol dreams of being able to pull off. "Come on, please? I wanna know!"

"I won't tell you what it is just because you're a bit cute!" a flustered Masaya quickly responded.

_"Dammit,"_ he thought. It didn't take long for his hastily formed plan to fall apart.

"Hmmmm? 'What it is', huh? Sure you aren't hiding anything?" Her grin covered the entire length of her face.

Madoka gently pushed off of Masaya as she let go of his arm. He swayed into Misaki who was not nearly as amused. "Masaya... You seriously need to trust us at times like this. Also, are you into Madoka now?"

He looked only at Misaki as he spoke. "You guys aren't being fair to me."

Masaya thought carefully for a moment. When it came down to it, he wasn't the one calling the shots. He wanted to tell them all about the corruption surrounding the investigations, but Satouin made him promise to keep it a secret from everyone else. If he knew it would be this difficult to keep his promise, he wouldn't have agreed so easily. Then again, it's hard to say no to Satouin when she thinks three steps ahead of you. The one who needed to have trust in this case was Masaya.

"Truth is, I do trust you guys - a lot actually. I've been your FC coach all year." He stopped walking but continued to speak. "We've been able to overcome a lot of things together. Obstacles that would have stalled us if we didn't have that trust in each other."

He raised his head slightly and spoke emphatically. "This is our greatest challenge yet. Everyone is involved now. It's not just us. It's our friends, our families, and the whole town. They're doing what they can to help find Asuka. Sorry Misaki, Madoka, but It's not my secret to tell. I want to tell you, but I can't risk subverting their efforts."

Misaki placed one hand on her hip. "Let me get this straight Masaya. You can't tell us what's going on because of Satouin and whatever is happening with Shindou?"

He nodded. It was relieving for him that she was quick to connect the dots.

Madoka was calmly fixing the left side of her hair. "I figured as much... she seems to have things planned out. If you give her enough time to plan something out in advance, it turns out really well. But having her think in the heat of the moment - " she spread her arms wide and imitated an explosion. "We better hope it goes according to plan in two days."

"This is why I don't like it! Why can't we know?" Misaki stamped her foot lightly on the pavement. "I'd rather have Masaya keeping secrets from me than her." Then she added with delight, "He's much easier to interrogate."

"Then if you want to, you should take it up with Satouin. Let's drop this against Masaya for now, 'kay?"

"In two days, she better be ready to spill it," pouted Misaki.

Once more, they started walking down the road. There was a flight terminal up ahead not more than 30 meters away. Madoka took the chance to latch onto Masaya's side a second time. He wasn't sure if she was being playful to lighten the mood or what, but there remained one nagging thought that he couldn't dismiss.

"_Why does it feel like Madoka is trying to protect me? I'm not understanding something, but what? Only Misaki was unsettled. Madoka appeared to be playing around as usual, but there's got to be more to it this time. I mean, right now she's holding on to me like I'm about to be whisked away."_

She continued to hold on until they reached the takeoff terminal. Misaki seemed to be lost in her own world while they were walking. She snapped out of it when they reached the terminal. Because there was still some awkwardness from their previous conversation, they only exchanged shallow goodbyes before taking flight into the impeccable autumn sky.

* * *

Mashiro face planted into her bed. Cherishing the solitude, she was content to lay there for several minutes despite the awkward position. Eventually, the debilitating force keeping her in place wore off and she rolled over onto her back. Working at Mashiro Udon was tiring. Interacting with all of her friends was tiring. It was a doubly tiring day for her so far.

_"And there's still so much more to do!"_ she thought.

The short break was enough for her to recover a handful of hit points. With cat-like delicacy, she dismounted the bed and climbed into the chair by her desk.

Mashiro was in the middle of a new phase. It began when she found herself in the clubroom with Masaya. He was making some alterations to her grav shoes so they would react more naturally to the way she played FC. It surprised her how much he knew about the specifics inside her particular grav shoes. Even though she was curious about the work being done and the components inside, she couldn't keep up with Masaya. Components like the anti-graviton coupler and the balancer actuators left visible question marks over her head.

"I've come a long way already since then, haven't I?" she said while opening up the laptop screen she closed earlier that day. She didn't know how exhilarating it could be to _really _understand something. Since her grades leaned away from the "stellar" side and more towards the "abysmal" side, she never had the confidence in anything she learned. However, with a lot of effort over time, she grew to understand the components inside of grav shoes, and how electronics work in general. Still, it was an ongoing transformation.

"Mashiro 3.0 is here!" was one of her favorite things to say now. 3.0, like the version number of a game. Each version of a game doesn't become something completely new. It builds upon what already existed in the previous versions. That's why she liked to call herself version 3.0 - her new knowledge was in addition to the Mashiro that played FC, worked at an Udon shop, and adored Misaki.

She reached for her over-ear headphones but did not immediately put them on. She had to make a choice between staying alert for her mother's pranks or listening to music so she could focus on the computer.

Eventually, the headphones curled gently around her ears. Mashiro knew she was prime Botan food, but she was still willing to risk it for her music. She relaxed her posture and began to dig into her research materials once more.

* * *

**9:00am - Mid Morning of Satouin's Plan**

Emotions were flying high on that fateful morning. A mixture of tension, anxiety, and optimism filled the war room where everyone had gathered. Not a person was out of place. The full list of operatives included Mashiro, Madoka, Masaya, Misaki, Shion, Satouin, and one new face. Rika, who apparently became involved through Satouin, was joining the group.

The initial rendezvous point was inside Satouin's manor. She had a room prepared especially for this mission. It was clear from the beginning that she intended to take this seriously.

Satouin walked to the front of the room. "Everyone is here now, so let's begin!"

There was a projector configured to display from a nearby computer. In a way, it didn't feel all that different to anyone from the school classroom they were skipping out on. Although, there was a lot more riding on what they were learning here.

The projector screen switched slides. Since Masaya was the only other one aware of the investigation's sabotage, Satouin had to chronicle things from the start for everyone to understand.

"Initially, I placed my focus on Shindou's disappearance. Through my own research, I grew suspicious of the police investigation. Using the connections and influence of my family, I was able to obtain copies of official documents surrounding the investigation. It was through these documents that a disturbing realization emerged."

Satouin rolled through some of the documents and highlighted the parts that stuck out to her. "That is why I, along with Masaya, concluded that something is very wrong and we must act if we want to find our friends."

Misaki looked ready to explode. "That's despicable! They are part of the police! How could they do this?" She slapped her hands on the table. "Why haven't we gone public with this? Shouldn't we tell the rest of the police what is going on? The investigators are the ones that seem to be going rogue here. I'm sure somebody would listen."

Satouin spoke in a pragmatic tone. "I understand how you feel, Misaki. I understand your bitterness, I really do. But we can't go public with this right now."

"Really now," Misaki replied. "Can you explain why that is?"

Satouin raised one finger in the air. "First, what proof do we have? We cannot show any of these documents because I'm not supposed to have _any_ of them. It would put considerable suspicion on us, and I'm sure those investigators know who we are. They would leap at a chance to diminish us."

There was no reply from Misaki as she listened, so Satouin raised her second finger. "Second, going public would put the pressure on them to destroy anything that might implicate them. If they destroy everything before we - or other credible police members - can access it, we might miss our chance to get a lead. The only link to Asuka or Shindou might go down with them. It's too risky."

The room was quiet as she processed what Satouin said.

To everyone's surprise, Misaki started laughing. She looked across the table at Masaya. "This is why you had to keep it a secret from me, right? You knew I'd get all worked up at those JERKS and blow our cover."

"_Uh well, no. I was just following Satouin," _he thought. But he wasn't about to admit that, so he gave Misaki an enthusiastic thumbs up.

Madoka placed both of her arms out in front of her on the table. "What Satouin is saying makes sense to me. So, the question becomes: what are we going to do about it?"

"I'm pleased you asked, Madoka. We're going to manipulate the investigators."

With the click of a button, the slide advanced to the next one. In big bold letters amid a fancy background, it read:

**"Operation: Catch a Snow Mouse"**

A couple of the girls tried to hide their smirking with their hands. Satouin paid no attention them. She had complete confidence in her plan.

"The investigators are the key! We need to find out exactly who and what they know. Are they behind everything? Or did someone put them up to this?"

Mashiro tapped her left hand with a fist. "Oh! I think I get it! The investigators are the little mice trying to blend in to their surroundings and we're going to set a trap for them?"

Everyone ooohed and applauded Mashiro's insight.

Masaya was impressed as well. "That was remarkable, Mashiro. You always did try to talk in cryptic, roundabout ways yourself. I can see how you figured it out!"

"Hey, that last part was unnecessary!" she wailed back.

Satouin tried to regroup everyone. "Exactly, Mashiro. We don't have too much time before it starts, so let's go over the plan."

She advanced the slides once they settled down again. "I hope you are all ready for this!"

"_You have no idea how ready for this I am," _Masaya thought as he and the others dove into Satouin's master plan.

* * *

**Next time - Operation: Catch a Snow Mouse in action!**


	5. Chapter 5

**9:55AM - Outside of Fukurujima Police Headquarters**

"Ka-choo!"

Mashiro's subdued sneeze broke the light silence. The air was cool, and the sky was a tumultuous grey. It appeared as if rain would begin to fall at any moment. Even so, it was a welcome break from the recent streak of autumn heat.

After recoiling from her sneeze, Mashiro frowned a little bit. "_Who could be talking about me?"_ she wondered. _"Oh no... what if this is a bad omen? Should I leave? Am I bad luck?_

While she was panicking by herself, everyone else was focused on another dramatic scene unfolding. Madoka was throwing a little fit.

"Someone explain this to me again! Why do _I _have to do this?" she cried out.

Madoka stood gallantly in front everyone wearing a crisp grey suit and a medium length pencil skirt. Fake glasses rested lightly on her nose. Her long and somewhat uncontrolled hair was replaced with a captivatingly smooth ponytail that flowed effortlessly down her back. All in all, it was a complete physical transformation. She looked years more mature than she really was - and that was exactly the point.

Masaya tried to step up to the challenge and explain things to her. "We need someone to do this for the first part of Satouin's plan, remember? All you have to do is slip inside the police station, find the mailbox for Yokoyama Hisoka who is the lead detective on Shindou's case, plant the documents that Satouin has prepared, and get out of there without attracting too much attention."

"I know all that, Hinata! You forgot to explain the part about why it has to be _me_ doing this!" she replied.

"Aww, but it _suits_ you purrfectly!" Misaki joked.

Madoka made a pouting sound and frowned in an exaggerated way. Deep down though, she appreciated Misaki's natural humor.

Satouin was a little more serious in her expression as she tried to explain next. "It isn't a terribly complicated matter. We had this outfit at the manor and it fit you the best, Madoka. Besides, you are the manager for the Kunahama FC club, are you not? You will fit right in as an office worker at the police station. It is important for you to blend in as much as possible so you can focus on delivering those documents uninterrupted."

Rika folded her hands together and looked at Madoka. "I'm sorry Madoka, it was just too obvious that I was a student when I tried it on. Otherwise, I would have been able to do it... But it really does look good on you."

"It's fine, it's fine," Madoka said while waving her hand, "There's no choice here, I suppose." Trying to get fired up, she stamped her foot on the ground and struck a pose. "OK! I'm ready to do this!"

Some worried expressions flashed on the faces of everyone. Was it really alright to leave such an important part of the mission to Madoka? Even though they wondered about this, they did not raise any objections.

Satouin clapped her hands together. "It's almost time to begin." She continued once she had everyone's full attention. "From the information I've gathered the last few days, Yokoyama doesn't usually arrive in the office until sometime around 11:00am. That's in one hour, which should hopefully be plenty of time to complete the objective."

The air gradually became tenser.

Satouin continued directing traffic. "We're going to split up in our groups now and get into position. Everyone, please verify that the headset communicator you were given is on and working. We should all be able to hear each other." She gave Madoka a confident smile. "If anything happens Madoka, we'll be ready to back you up."

They put their hands together and let out a cheer.

Operation: Catch a Snow Mouse had two main phases. It was critically important for the first phase to go exactly according to plan. The documents Satouin managed to create were forged police notifications that appeared to be from the chief of police at the station they were currently outside of. They notified Yokoyama that a full and thorough audit was to be performed on the Shindou disappearance case. All relevant case data, information, and materials were to be submitted to the chief by the next day and reviewed for accuracy and legitimacy.

The documents were a trap, and this trap was adapted from a method the police used themselves. A technique called "tickling the wire" is sometimes used to trick people into revealing secrets that they are hiding by scaring them into action. If nothing else, using this crafty law enforcement technique _on the law enforcement_ was a bold strategy.

Satouin and Masaya knew that Yokoyama didn't have enough material to avert suspicion from a _real_ audit. They knew this because they already read the documents she obtained through her connections earlier that week. With a little luck, Yokoyama would begin to panic. A one day deadline should put the pressure on him to not waste time asking questions.

However, it wasn't the new things that Satouin was after. It didn't matter what Yokoyama came up with to try and satisfy the audit because it would undoubtedly be false anyway. Satouin suspected that someone else was pulling the strings from behind the scenes, and she wanted to lure them out. Yokoyama probably doesn't know what information to forge. At the very least, he'll want to consult with his conspirator before submitting anything. Once the mastermind was revealed, Satouin planned to strike!

Masaya's voice crackled into earpieces of everyone's headset. "We are in position. Madoka will approach the station now."

Madoka, Mashiro, Misaki, and Masaya were in position to view the police station's western and southern entrances from a safe distance away. They were standing down the street on the opposite side near an intersection crosswalk. The unfamiliar city made them feel uncomfortably conspicuous.

"Group M" as Satouin called them, had their eyes fixated on the police entrances. They carefully watched every person that entered and exited the building. "Group IN" was situated down the road near the station's eastern entrance. With this layout, the two groups could see each other as well as the three building entrances.

There weren't a lot of large buildings on any of the islands, but the police headquarters was one of the largest structures. It had many offices, conference rooms, interview rooms, equipment storage spaces, and some holding cells. It was only natural that such a large building would have multiple entrances. Thankfully, their group had the numbers to cover everything without isolating anyone.

Madoka watched the entrance carefully. She patiently waited for the perfect victim to approach the building. After about 5 minutes, she spotted a professional looking man drawing near the police station. Madoka took a deep breath, checked her appearance was in order, grabbed the black bag containing the forged documents, and set off confidently towards entrance.

As she walked, she timed her steps so that she would arrive at the entrance door just before the man did. It was already nerve-racking for her and she fought valiantly to keep her composure.

With perfect timing, she arrived at the door first. Wearing an inviting smile, she opened it for him, allowing him to go inside before her. She followed quickly and closely behind him.

The inside of the station had a standard reception desk, multiple glass doors and a set of stairs that went to the second floor. She followed the man past the reception desk and towards the glass doors.

These doors were locked and required an RFID badge to enter. Normally, this prevented unauthorized people from entering.

The man used his badge to unlock the door. "My turn to hold it," he said with smile.

"Thank you very much," Madoka said as she casually walked inside.

"_Amazing! It's scary how easy that was,_" she thought.

Beyond the glass gates, Madoka stood at a small entryway with a few different corridors extruding out of it. The man who let her into the building turned to the left and walked down the hallway, leaving her alone.

"Guys, I made it inside. There's only one problem now," she said into her headset.

"What's the problem?" Masaya asked.

"I don't know where the heck to go now!"

She looked around for a map or an office listing... anything to give her a clue. Around one of the walls, she found what she was looking for - almost. There was a short list of names and mailboxes for some offices on the first floor. Unfortunately, none of them were for Yokoyama Hisoka. The list seemed largely incomplete.

"_Of course it wouldn't be that easy... I guess I need to keep looking around."_

Madoka continued walking straight ahead of where she came in. The building felt like a needlessly complex maze. She passed some areas that had a number of private offices lined up in a row. She impalpably crossed some areas that were more open with many people around. At times, there were sub-departments of the police that were behind more doors requiring badge entry, forcing her to turn and find a new path.

After wandering the first floor without luck, she found a stairwell and proceeded upwards. There were 4 floors in this building. The thought of searching every floor made her feel uneasy.

"How am I doing on time?" she asked while hurrying up the stairs.

"Not too good..." came the reply from Masaya. "It's already 10:25. Still no sign of Yokoyama entering the building though, so there's some time yet."

Distracted by her thoughts, she opened the stairwell door on the second floor and stepped through. Just like in FC, being distracted leads to mistakes. Madoka bumped into a short woman walking down the hallway, sending her stumbling backwards.

Madoka caught herself on the door. The impact left her stunned momentarily. She quickly regained her senses and apologized to the woman. "I'm sorry! I didn't see you."

"Oh, it's ok. I'm sorry too." The woman looked over to see who she collided so forcefully with. "I don't recognize you, are you new here?" the woman called out to her.

Madoka didn't want to stop and chat, but her little spill already attracted some attention. She calmly played along. "That's right. I'm a new office assistant here. I'm really sorry about bumping into you."

The woman nodded unexcitedly. "I see, that's why I haven't seen you around here before." The way the woman was eyeing Madoka made her uncomfortable. "Say, who are you working with?" the woman asked.

Madoka looked around at the nearby offices. She wanted to choose someone who wasn't at their desk so the woman couldn't immediately verify it, but she couldn't quite see the names on the doors. "_Come on, what kind of office is this?_" she wondered.

"I, um, haven't been officially assigned yet. I'm still going through the orientation."

The woman looked a little puzzled. "Is that so..." her voice trailed off boringly.

"_Come on, just leave already!"_ Madoka was getting fed up with this girl. It was still too risky to just blow her off and cause a scene, so she hung in there.

The woman pestered Madoka with another question. "By the way, what is your name, miss?"

Madoka breathed a sigh of relief. _"Ok, an easy question!"_

"Aoya-" she caught herself part way through. _"Wait. Why would I give out my real name? If I do that, they'll find out who I am, come to our class and arrest me later! My life would be over! I'd never live it down."_

"Aoyama. Um... uh... Reiko! Aoyama Reiko." She beamed at her brightly, trying to sell it.

Unfortunately, the woman wouldn't pick up on any cues and persisted even further. "You aren't sure of your own name?"

"Um.. yeah! I go by lots of names. It's the age of the internet and all that, you know? Sometimes you second guess your real name in the heat of the moment. It's natural - especially when you are practically being interrogated." She heavily emphasized the last part of what she said.

Madoka's tone surprised the woman and she took a small step backward. "Sorry about that. I was getting carried away, wasn't I?" She bowed gently. "Please excuse me, Ms. Aoyama." she said as she walked tentatively past Madoka. Madoka watched her walk toward the end of the hall and turn the corner.

"Phew... that was pretty close.." she muttered.

"I wasn't worried for a moment!" said Misaki through the headset. "I knew you could handle a turtle like her."

Masaya also had something to say. "That was definitely a close one. Try to hurry before anything else happens. We need you back out here."

Madoka smiled. Knowing everyone was cheering for her lifted her spirit somewhat.

"How could anyone be fooled by a knockoff Reiko?" Satouin complained.

Madoka chuckled quietly. She made sure nobody was within earshot before replying. "Give me a break; I was in a big pinch! Could you have done any better?"

"Hmph!" was all that could be heard on the other end.

Madoka decided she would just apologize to Satouin later and focus on what she was supposed to be doing. She was still carrying the fake audit request in her bag.

Slowly at first, but then more briskly, she proceeded down the hallway. She checked each name printed on every door, wall, and plaque in sight. "Yokoyama Hisoka, where are you?" she sang silently to herself. "The name means 'Secretive' and 'Reserved'... is his office location a secret too? Not that it matters, because no secret stays safe from me."

Madoka sensed she was running out of time. However, without finding what she was looking for on the second floor, she had to proceed up to the third floor.

The search grew increasingly frenzied. She began to worry less about not drawing attention. The minutes ticked away profusely as she walked up and down each hallway and area on the third floor. The clock on the wall read 10:55.

Once again, she couldn't find Yokoyama's office or mailbox anywhere. With much frustration, she shoved open the door to the stairwell and began climbing to the fourth and final floor.

Suddenly a worried Mashiro voice came through the speaker. "Madoka! Madoka! You've gotta get out of there!"

Madoka stopped dead in her tracks.

An alarmed Satouin interrupted Mashiro. "We just spotted Yokoyama entering the building. You have to deliver the document _now _and get out of there! If he spots you and recognizes you, your cover is going to get blown. The whole plan could fall apart!"

Madoka felt dejected. "I'm sorry, everyone. I'm having really bad luck today."

A tiny Mashiro voice rang in her earpiece. "Oh, I knew it! I'm sorry for bringing bad luck!"

Madoka picked up her head and and finished ascending to the fourth floor. "_There's only one more floor to search. Asuka is depending on us so I can't fail here!"_ Decisively, she swung open the door, bystanders be damned, and hurried into the floor landing.

Surprisingly, the fourth floor was rather small and deserted. It didn't even feel like a proper floor, but more like an add-on to the building. There was only one long hallway with a large window at the near end close to Madoka. Halfway down the corridor on the other side was a plastic structure and a set of office mailboxes.

"_Jackpot!"_

She flew down the hallway at record speed. At the mailbox cube, she ran her finger over each name.

"... ... ... .. .. . . there! Found you, Yokoyama Hisoka!"

The bag she was carrying unclipped easily with a single push. Madoka reached inside and retrieved the documents Satouin gave her. She carefully laid them in the mailbox as she was instructed and clipped her bag together again. It only took her a few minutes to finish completing the mission. She raced back to the door, opened it, and shuffled into the stairwell.

Madoka took a few steps down the stairs until a voice froze her in place. It was coming from below her a few flights down. She leaned over the stair railing to try and hear more clearly.

After listening for a few seconds, she could understand that two men were merely exchanging greetings. Their muffled voices reverberated through the stairwell.

"..sounds good. I'll catch you later Mr. Yokoyama," one of them said to the other.

_"Crap. I'm too late. He's coming up this way now. He's probably headed for his office._"

The footsteps were getting closer. Madoka rushed back up the steps as quietly as she could and returned to the fourth floor. She scanned the area for a second way out. An elevator or a secondary stairwell would have been perfect, but she didn't see anything like that. The floor must be used so infrequently that they didn't bother to build more than one way to reach it.

Stress and tension were building. She thought desperately for a solution. "_The bathroom? I can probably hide in the bathroom."_

One thing the add-on floor did have was a bathroom. Unfortunately for Madoka, it was at the other end of the hall. She could see the bathroom symbol protruding from wall near the ceiling. She wouldn't be able to make it in time before Mr. Yokoyama reached the top of the stairs.

Her ponytail swayed from a gentle wind gust that blew through the slightly ajar window next to her. She turned to face the window. That's when her face lit up with an idea.

Madoka opened the window as wide as it would go. The opening was just big enough for her to squeeze into. The window was at the back of the building and there didn't appear to be anyone in sight at a glance. She sat on the ledge with her back to the cool air and her legs still inside the building.

"_If I worked here, I'd so get fired for this._"

Like a deep sea diver, Madoka tipped backwards over the ledge and activated her grav shoes. She plummeted down toward the earth. Like a cat that always lands on its feet, she oriented herself properly while slowing her decent. A perfect getaway.

She landed firmly on the concrete below. Nobody seemed to notice a girl suddenly bust out of the police station. She began walking along the side of the building to go rejoin the others.

Madoka peeked around the corner. Off in the distance, she could see Rika, Satouin, and her brother Shion intently watching the entrances.

She walked towards them triumphantly, and as they took notice of her approach, she gave them a thumbs up and a huge smile.

* * *

**Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!**


End file.
